ally fell into a deep sleep. That was the opportunity Paul desired.
He seized the anchor that was in the bow of the fellow's boat and
dropped it in the stream. The boat swung around and hung there, and
Paul paddled away. When quite a distance down he heard faint cries of
"Captain, Captain, where are you?" The boatman thought he was drifting;
but Boyton never saw him again.

Below Ancenes Paul was met by Jules Verne, the distinguished novelist,
who came up the river on a boat rowed by some of his sailors. He
accompanied the voyager all the way to Nantes, where the trip
terminated. The two men became great friends, the navigator
enjoying the novelist's hospitality on his yacht and also at his
residence in Nantes. Monsieur Verne afterward made use of the
life-saving dress to illustrate scenes in a novel entitled "The
Tribulations of a Chinaman." Nantes was reached eight days from the
time of starting. Excursion steamers met them and fired salutes, The
Hospitaliers des Sauveteurs Bretons, the leading life-saving society
of France, elected Paul an officer of the first rank and gave him
diplomas and medals.

CHAPTER XV.

Until January 15th, Paul remained in Nantes, then he went to Madrid. The
weather was very cold. It was his intention to make a voyage on some
of the Spanish rivers. On looking over the country, he selected the
Tagus as being the least known and promising more adventure than any of
the others. When it was announced that he was going to attempt that
river, several of the-leading residents of Madrid endeavored to dissuade
him; he received letters from many prominent people telling him that the
river was not navigable, running as it did, through a wild,
mountainous country, and full of waterfalls. He concluded to take a look
at the stream himself and so form his own opinion. For this purpose he
went to Toledo and found there a narrow, turbulent river, rushing over
great masses of rock. He hired a mule and rode several miles down its
banks and discovered no improvement. In making inquiries of the natives
about the character of the river, the invariable answer was, "Mucho
malo, Senor; mucho malo." "Very bad, sir; very bad."

Boyton was far from liking the looks of the river; but made up his mind
to try it anyhow, especially as everyone told him he could not do it.
After deciding on a course, he returned to Madrid and witnessed the
fetes attending the marri